In the prior art, removal of the outrigger box or housing from the chassis of a mobile crane is a time-consuming and laborious task. Since the fixed upright jack cylinders at opposite ends of the outrigger box block longitudinal movement of the box relative to the crane chassis, it is necessary to remove at least one of the extremely heavy jack cylinders before the outrigger box can be shifted and removed. Other methods of removal and installation of outrigger boxes are equally inconvenient, time consuming and costly.
Accordingly, it is the objective of the present invention to provide a simplified, convenient and much less laborious and time consuming method of removing and installing outrigger boxes of cranes. A related objective of the invention is to modify the conventional construction of the outrigger assembly in such a manner that the simplified and convenient removal and installation of the assembly is rendered possible and expeditious.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of removal and installation of the outrigger box which involves only four simple procedures or steps carried out in sequence to remove the outrigger box, and carried out in reverse sequence to install the box on the crane chassis.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following detailed description .